Master Class for young talent
I began sewing when I was about eight years old. By ten I was making my own clothes. I never thought twice about it, it was just what I did. By high school I had quite definite ideas about how I wanted to dress, and the shops weren’t going to deliver, so my sewing skills got plenty of practice. I got lots of support in my passion from my Mum and also a neighbour, Giselle, who was a Paris trained couture seamstress. I was very lucky to have such skills on hand, and Giselle in particular taught me techniques that work brilliantly, but that I have never seen elsewhere.
These days, our schools are offering far more in terms of design and technology than 35 years ago, but there are plenty of young people out there who are either way ahead of the curriculum, want to focus their schooling elsewhere, or just plain captivated by Project Runway.
I know that age is no barrier to capability and talent. And so these school holidays*, I am offering a Master Class for young people. Young people = school aged, from about Year 8 and above.
Limited to four places, this class is a chance for the students to do some intense sewing. And drafting, if they want to. Pretty much what they want to make is fine. The purpose of the course is for each student to get an outcome at the end of it, having learned a lot of new and useful things in the process.
Because it is a Master Class, students need to have a little experience already – most will have done two years of technology in Year 7-8, and preferably made a garment or tried to since then. I am just as happy to take a kid who has tried and failed to make several things by themselves than one successful make. Either shows passion and commitment, which are far harder to teach than setting in a sleeve!
So if this sounds like you, or your daughter/son, do contact me for a chat. Students attending will need to arrive with fabrics and a design, and for this to work I’ll need to have some input into what those are before 1 October. We will have a fabulous week, lots of fun as well as graft, and we’ll make sure the kids are well looked after while in our care.
*October 2012
